Editing Internet Standard (section)

==Standardization process== 
Becoming a standard is a two-step process within the Internet Standards Process: ''Proposed Standard'' and ''Internet Standard''. These are called ''maturity levels'' and the process is called the ''Standards Track''.

If an RFC is part of a proposal that is on the Standards Track, then at the first stage, the standard is proposed and subsequently organizations decide whether to implement this Proposed Standard. After the criteria in RFC 6410 is met (two separate implementations, widespread use, no errata etc.),<ref name="ietf,rfc 6410,section 2.2">{{cite ietf| title=Reducing the Standards Track to Two Maturity Levels| rfc=6410|sectionname=The Second Maturity Level: Internet Standard  |section=2.2 | author1=Russell Housley| author2=Dave Crocker| author3=Eric W. Burger| date=11 October 2011| publisher=[[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]] |quote=The request for reclassification is sent to the IESG along with an explanation of how the criteria have been met. The criteria are:...}}</ref> the RFC can advance to Internet Standard.

The Internet Standards Process is defined in several "Best Current Practice" documents, notably [http://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp9 BCP 9] ({{As of|2011|alt=currently}} RFC 2026 and RFC 6410). There were previously three standard maturity levels: ''Proposed Standard'', ''Draft Standard'' and ''Internet Standard''. RFC 6410 reduced this to two maturity levels.

===Proposed Standard===
RFC 2026 originally characterized Proposed Standards as immature specifications, but this stance was annulled by RFC 7127.<ref>{{cite IETF |title=Characterization of Proposed Standards |rfc=7127 |sectionname=Characterization of Specifications |section=3 |date=January 2014 |publisher=[[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]] |access-date=March 11, 2016}}</ref>

A ''Proposed Standard'' specification is stable, has resolved known design choices, has received significant community review, and appears to enjoy enough community interest to be considered valuable. Usually, neither implementation nor operational experience is required for the designation of a specification as a Proposed Standard.

Proposed Standards are of such quality that implementations can be deployed in the Internet. However, as with all technical specifications, Proposed Standards may be revised if problems are found or better solutions are identified, when experiences with deploying implementations of such technologies at scale is gathered.

Many Proposed Standards are actually deployed on the Internet and used extensively, as stable protocols. Actual practice has been that full progression through the sequence of standards levels is typically quite rare, and most popular IETF protocols remain at Proposed Standard.<ref>{{cite IETF |title=Characterization of Proposed Standards |rfc=7127 |sectionname=IETF Review of Proposed Standards |section=2 |date=January 2014 |publisher=[[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]] |access-date=March 11, 2016}}</ref>

===Draft Standard===
In October 2011, RFC 6410 merged the second and third maturity levels into one ''Internet Standard''. Existing older ''Draft Standards'' retain that classification, absent explicit actions. For old ''Draft Standards'' two possible actions<ref name="ietf,rfc 2026,section 6.1">{{Cite IETF |last=Bradner|first=S.|date=October 1996|title=The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3 |rfc=2026 |sectionname=Standards Actions |section=6.1 |doi=10.17487/rfc2026 }}</ref> are available, which must be approved by the IESG: A ''Draft Standard'' may be reclassified as an ''Internet Standard'' as soon as the criteria in <nowiki>RFC 6410</nowiki><ref name="ietf,rfc 6410,section 2.2"/> are satisfied; or, after two years since <nowiki>RFC 6410</nowiki> was approved as BCP (October 2013), the [[Internet Engineering Steering Group|IESG]] can choose to reclassify an old ''Draft Standard'' as ''Proposed Standard''.<ref name="ietf,rfc 6410,section 2.3">{{cite ietf| title=Reducing the Standards Track to Two Maturity Levels| rfc=6410|sectionname= Transition to a Standards Track with Two Maturity Levels |section= 2.3 | author1=Russell Housley| author2=Dave Crocker| author3=Eric W. Burger| date=11 October 2011| publisher=[[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]]}}</ref>

===Internet Standard===
An Internet Standard is characterized by a high degree of technical maturity and by a generally held belief that the specified protocol or service provides significant benefit to the Internet community. Generally Internet Standards cover interoperability of systems on the Internet through defining protocols, message formats, schemas, and languages. 
An Internet Standard ensures that hardware and software produced by different vendors can work together. Having a standard makes it much easier to develop software and hardware that link different networks because software and hardware can be developed one layer at a time. Normally, the standards used in data communication are called protocols.

All Internet Standards are given a number in the STD series.  The series was summarized in its first document, STD 1 (RFC 5000), until 2013, but this practice was retired in RFC 7100. The definitive list of Internet Standards is now maintained by the RFC Editor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rfc-editor.org/standards |title=Official Internet Protocol Standards |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2018-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315032751/http://www.rfc-editor.org/standards |url-status=live }}</ref>

Documents submitted to the IETF editor and accepted as an RFC are not revised; if the document has to be changed, it is submitted again and assigned a new RFC number. When an RFC becomes an Internet Standard (STD), it is assigned an STD number but retains its RFC number. When an Internet Standard is updated, its number is unchanged but refers to a different RFC or set of RFCs. For example, in 2007 RFC 3700 was an Internet Standard (STD 1) and in May 2008 it was replaced with RFC 5000. RFC 3700 received ''Historic'' status, and RFC 5000 became STD 1.

The list of Internet standards was originally published as STD 1 but this practice has been abandoned in favor of an online list maintained by the RFC Editor.<ref>{{IETF RFC|7100}}</ref>